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Cybersecurity faces critical skill gap

August 2, 2016

Graduate News

Source: The Inquirer

Intel Security’s recently published report studies the international shortage in cybersecurity skills. The report revealed key findings after surveying eight countries around the world and concluded that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is outpacing the supply of qualified workers.

The report stated, ‘In our survey of information technology (IT) professionals in Australia, France, Germany Israel, Japan, Mexico, the UK, and the US, 82% of respondents agree that there is a large shortage in their own organization as well as their country as a whole.’

The report pointed toward a shortage of skills as the main reason behind the workforce gap in the cybersecurity industry. Countries and companies must act quickly to address the cyber security skills shortage through improvements in education, workforce diversity, training opportunities, security technology and data collection, the report suggested.

According to the responses collected from IT professionals in the countries mentioned above, only 23% stated that the education system in their country prepares students to enter the industry and equips them with the pre-requisite training in the field. Half of the respondents stated a lack of training as the reason for a talent shortage.

More than three-quarters of the IT professionals polled said governments are not investing enough in building cyber security talent pools.

The report illustrated the top three sought after skills:

These skills are in greater demand than soft skills in communication and collaboration mainly due to the high technical level of knowledge associated with these areas. A majority of respondents (53%) said that the cybersecurity skills shortage is worse than talent deficits in other IT professions.

In order to change this shortfall in critical cybersecurity skill, countries need to increase government expenditure on education, promote gaming and technology exercises, and push for more cybersecurity programs in higher education.